Thursday, March 6, 2008

Self-care for counselors

Sometimes the old adage of "the cobbler's children has no shoes" is incredibly obvious in the counseling profession. How often have I talked with colleagues about their feelings of stress and when I ask them, "What are you doing to take care of yourself?" they look at me blankly. These therapists are REALLY GREAT at helping their clients get better-but not always so good at taking care of themselves. Self-care is important-for me AND for my clients. Self-care can include:
-regular exercise
-good nutrition
-staying away from caffeine
-playing with your family pets
-getting a massage
-going to therapy
Yes, I said it. Counselors can go to psychotherapy, too! I offer a sliding fee for ALL college students that qualify, and I really encourage graduate students and MFT Interns/ASWs to contact me if they are interested in getting counseling. I used to supervise volunteer peer counselors and I noticed one thing-clients seemed to do a lot better when the therapist was taking good care of themself. Not only am I committed to providing THE BEST care possible for my clients, but I encourage other professionals and pre-licensed professionals to also model good self-care-whatever that might mean for YOU!

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